News

All parents are invited to join Head of School Jon Alden for coffee and conversation on Friday, December 13, at 8:30 a.m. in the Media Center. Jon will highlight some of the interesting ideas and statistics from NAIS' presentation, The Road Ahead: Key Trends Impacting Independent Schools, and how these relate to our upcoming admission and re-enrollment season. No need to RSVP, but we hope to see you there!

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, it seems safe to talk turkey! As you may know, about 8 weeks ago we were gifted a beautiful female turkey named Jenny, a hybrid of rare breeds.

For the first several weeks, she was confined to the turkey coop with Franklin.  While it may seem terribly unfair for two big birds to be “cooped” up this way, it was important that she and Franklin bond and that she imprint on her new space, making it less likely she would fly away. (Yes, turkeys can fly, and they fly fast!)

Jenny is a great addition to the Springmont barnyard. She definitely has her own opinions, especially about the chickens and chipmunks whom she likes to chase. She has visited the inside of the chicken coop a few times, much to the dismay of the chickens!  She likes to watch the sheep in particular and seems very interested in people but is still a little wary.

Several students have asked about turkey eggs - whether we can eat them and whether we will have baby turkeys.  As to the latter, that’s up to the turkeys, but if Jenny chooses to sit on some eggs, I won’t stop her!  The former question made me wonder why we don’t eat the pretty speckled, cream-colored turkey eggs when we eat duck, quail and goose eggs?  The answer is likely quite simple - turkeys don’t lay eggs at the same rate that chickens do (maybe only two a week), they don’t start to lay until they are older, and turkeys are expensive to keep because they require larger spaces and eat more.  This means the price of a single turkey egg could be as much as $3!  This is probably why eating turkey eggs is a rarity.

Please be sure to stop by and see our beautiful gray girl and the handsome, forever pardoned, Franklin!
 

Thank you to all the families who came to the Book Fair last week!  We are thrilled that so many of you are promoting reading at home and helping provide books for our school library. Students enjoyed discovering new titles, thoughtfully selecting books while staying within their budgets.

Thank you to the very special team of parent volunteers who helped set up, assist customers, cashier, straighten inventory and pack up.  Your generous gift of time and effort has brought more knowledge, adventure, humor, mystery and imagination into the lives of our young people! Thank you, Jen Barich, Jennifer Blake, Laura Gold, Kristina Hoeft, Maggie Ilkowska, Elisabeth Johnson, Mary Hunter Maxwell, Dana McMeekin, Nisha Mehta, Shama Shah, Dara Smith and Jennifer Waldman, and a big thank you to Ann Colonna!
 

After Springmont, Clarissa attended Holy Spirit Prep and then the University of Georgia, graduating in 2013 with a major in Psychology. While working at Wellstar, she earned her Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration at Georgia State in 2016 and is currently working at Wellstar as an Office Manager. 

Pictured center, flanked by her sister Carolina and her cousin Alex Diaz, also alums, Clarissa shares, “As a member of the Alumni Association, I often reflect back on my experience at Springmont. The Montessori education I received went above and beyond a general academic program and allowed me to develop leadership skills and to grow in wisdom each day. Learning became something I looked forward to regardless of the task difficulty. The Montessori philosophy has a way of making even the most challenging tasks fun.  I learned to welcome challenges and to put my best effort forward with each task I did.  I made friendships I still have to this day and unforgettable memories along the way.” 
 

Beginning at 2:45 on December 10, Academic Fair is a school-wide showcase of the lessons and work happening in our classrooms!  All parking is off campus at the Sandy Springs United Methodist Church’s Hitson Activity Center (GPS: 6150 Sandy Springs Circle). Shuttles will run continuously beginning at 2:30, with the last shuttle departing from campus for the parking area at 5:15 p.m.                                       
•    Toddler and Primary* classes are open to current class families 2:45 – 3:45 and open to visitors 3:45 – 4:15. *All Day parents are encouraged to attend; however, All Day classrooms will serve students until 6:00 p.m. as usual, and students without parent attendees will participate in special activities during this time.
•    Lower Elementary classes are open to current class families 3:00 – 4:00 and open to visitors 4:00 – 4:30.
•    Upper Elementary will host an Invention Convention (open to all) 3:00 – 4:30 and Middle School will present their research topics (open to all) 3:30 – 5:00.  Primary and Lower Elementary families are encouraged to stop by and to collect stickers in their Passports to Learning, redeemable for a treat in the Front Office.

Don't miss the Art Show in the Media Center 2:45 – 5:00